In a sharply worded statement issued on Tuesday, the Humanitarian Country Team – which brings together senior UN officials and more than 200 local and international aid groups – called on the international community to press Israeli authorities to reverse measures that are choking humanitarian work, particularly in the Gaza...
The world is inexorably becoming industrialised, raising the prospects of better jobs and livelihoods for many of the world’s poorest. But, in order to truly benefit the global population and the planet as a whole, international trade and industry must go hand in hand with healthier communities, lower emissions and...
He thanked the Government of Colombia for its continued cooperation with the UN Verification Mission and underscored the crucial role of the Security Council in the progress achieved to date. The veteran diplomat and negotiator formally take up his post later this month. Mr. Jenča emphasised that the comprehensive implementation...
Speaking via videoconference, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said the country remains trapped in a prolonged political, humanitarian and development crisis. “Yemen is so much more than the containment of a threat,” he said. “The cost of inaction is high.” Mr. Grundberg stressed the urgent need for progress towards...
“Without funding, asylum seekers are left in limbo – undocumented, unsupported and increasingly desperate,” said Ruvendrini Menikdiwela, Assistant High Commissioner for Protection. Her comments follow a 41 per cent budget cut to the UN agency’s operations in the country that have had devastating consequences. “This is not about luxuries; the...
Special Representative María Isabel Salvador told ambassadors in the Security Council that a “deliberate and coordinated” campaign is being waged by organized crime groups to expand territorial control and paralyse the capital, Port-au-Prince. Recent gang attacks have targeted previously unaffected areas such as Delmas and Pétion-Ville, while the storming...
Volker Türk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva that the country had reached “yet another crisis point,” with heavily armed gangs expanding their control, public institutions in ruins and a humanitarian emergency deepening by the day. “I am not sure the usual description of gang violence captures the amount...
From embarking on a digital revolution to fill the gaping gender divide to ensuring a seat at decision making tables, the new plan builds on the landmark 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which presented a blueprint for achieving gender equality and advancing women’s rights. UN Women chief Sima...
“The rapid and uninterrupted expansion of the conflict, particularly in South Kivu province, continues to inflict a heavy toll on the civilian population,” said UN humanitarian coordinator for DRC, Bruno Lemarquis. “The population can no longer continue to pay such a heavy price for a conflict that continues to spread...
In a new report, UN investigators detailed multiple attacks on civilians, healthcare facilities, markets, and schools, as well as ethnically motivated summary executions. “The continued and deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian objects, as well as summary executions, sexual violence and other violations and abuses, underscore the utter failure by...
According to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, the updated death toll – which includes fatalities recorded since 8 October 2023 – is 58 per cent higher than the 1,900 people killed during the 34-day conflict in 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah. “Across the country, at least 71 people were...
Mr. Stiell’s strong message to government negotiators comes as the latest UN climate conference, running in the UAE’s main city, Dubai, since last Thursday, reaches the halfway mark with agreement on financing for climate adaptation and the fate of fossil fuels still up in the air. “All governments must give...
